Well, with the season’s end catching up on us, I’m trying to get out as much as I can, as it’s a long winter, well it seems like that. I’ve been fly fishing round the islands, Luss bank the Ross Isles and the Pilot Bank and have had offers and seen fish on all of the aforementioned places, but I just think the best is yet to come. I feel that August can be a month where the fish switch themselves off, and have a break for a few weeks, or until there’s a weather change to stir them up once again, and then it’s all systems go. Now that September is here and the temperature is dropping and there’s a bit more puff in the wind, the fly drifts will come into place and hopefully the fish will play ball with us. Jimmy Raeburn was out with Kenny MacDonald, a relative newcomer to fly fishing and not only hooked Kenny on the fly fishing but hooked a cracking 5.5lb Sea Trout whilst drifting the Luss bank. The fish took an old favourite fly to Loch Lomond, a Turkey and Gold. So go on and get those old feather dusters, pluck a few feathers from it and get down to tying up a few.

Now wait till you read this, normally when your out fishing with a friend, you share most everything, things like, flies, coffee, the cost of petrol for the outboard, sandwiches, you know what I mean, but John Brice, who I had the greatest of respect for and most certainly thought of as a gentleman takes that a little bit further. He was out on the Loch with a close friend, who was about to start dapping for the first time. So, John being John took his friends dapping rod and began to show him what to do, after about 15mins John, who by this time had possibly forgotten to hand the rod back to his friend hooked a 3.5lb Sea Trout at the Ladies Point. Fine, by luck a fish took the dapping fly, so reaching out to get his rod from John, his friend was left speechless as John played out the fish and then had the audacity to ask him to net it for him. I would never have believed that of John who I held in high esteem. It is probably only due to John’s friends nature that they are still on talking terms, although he has indicated to me to give him a call whenever I’m going out. Another incident involving Mr ‘Happy Chappy’ John Brice occurred a week ago, when I got a request to tie up some flies for those Polis, messers Raeburn, and co. I duly tied up some Bumbles and Burtons, and was about to leave them in Jimmy Raeburn’s boat when they were snatched from my hand. Yes, John Brice again snatched the prize away from someone else, inspected the flies and promptly took all the Burtons and a couple of Bumbles for good measure leaving me to apologise to Jimmy Raeburn for only leaving a few Bumbles.

Did you receive a letter from Sandy MacFarlane, regarding the recent proposed bylaw changes, regarding the speed limit area. Sandy is certainly looking at it through a businessman’s point of view. I am surprised we fishermen got the letter in the first place. For me, looking at the new proposals, there are areas which don’t cover the 150 metres from any shoreline, for example, from the Cashell Campsite to the Carrick Rock, and from Culag Farm all the way north to Rubha Mor. Those areas have not been highlighted as a speed restriction area 150 metres from the shoreline. Can I remind you all that this is our chance to get things right for us fishermen, and that we must be sure in what we do, vote, and agree to before things are set in stone.

I was surprised to learn that George Bush was a keen angler as the picture below shows when he was on a recent visit to disaster hit New Orleans.